Old Sparks, New Flames
by CountryKitty
Summary: It was an average day in Scarlet's life. Hanging with Kyle, her best friend, practicing sharp-shooting, and taking a break to play with Axle, her guard dog. Everything changed after that. Life, friendships, new sparks created, old flames reignited. It all began with the simple words: You are going to attend Ouran Academy.
1. Tears Will Be Shed (1)

A/N: Here are the updated chapters. Hope you like them!

 **Old Sparks New Flames: Chapter One**

"WHAT!?" Scarlet shouted. She had just got back from a run with her best friend, Kyle, and still in her black running capris and pink sports bra, her father gave her some news she wasn't prepared for at all.

"I said, you are going to be attending Ouran Academy." Her dad, mafia boss, Soryu Oh of Black Dragons flatly replied.

"I can't attend Ouran! I don't do fluffy pink princesses, nor do I do uniforms. Especially dresses. Dad! You can't do that to me!" She cried back angrily.

"I can, and I will. I am your father. You will do as I say."

"Do as you say? You hardly bring that up anymore. Why the sudden urge for me to attend Prissy Pink Princess Land?"

"That information is classified." Soryu turns to leave, but his daughter grabs his arm with a death grip and won't let go. He slightly flinches, not expecting such a tight grip, but his flinch is not enough for Scarlet to notice. He hadn't realized how strong she had gotten.

"You can't make me do this. I do NOT want to go to Ouran. I want to stay here, at Tekka Heights. Tell me your reasons and I may find them reasonable enough to attend. If not, I might as well just run away." Scarlet replies, both fire and ice in her tone.

"I don't understand you sometimes Scarlet. Why does there have to be a reason for everything?"

"Because, you taught me since I was young to not stop at the first answer, to continue to ask why. And if you ask why too many times, the person on the other end will eventually give in and give you not only the information you wanted, but information you didn't want but is useful."

A smirk plays on his lips. "Ah, I have taught you well… Well, if you must know," He takes a deep breath. "Kyoya Ootori attends Ouran. I was hoping that if you two became friends…"

"Like that would ever happen! I hate him and he hates me! Anyways, what if we, by some miracle, became friends…?" Scarlet pushes.

"I was hoping that you… That you would… fall in love…and get eventually married once you both graduated." Soryu says quietly.

"WHAT? So this is an arranged marriage now!? It sure as hell looks like one to me."

"No, sweetie. It's not an arranged marriage. I just hope it doesn't come down to that. You two are destined to get married. It's the agreement of our two clans. The first born granddaughter of the current head must get married to the first born grandson of the other in order to keep the bonds between our two clans strong." He explains but before he can say anymore, Scarlet cuts him off.

"Sure as hell sound like one to me! But Kyoya isn't the first born grandson. In fact, he's the last. So why him?"

"All the other have been promised to marry other clan's descendants. He is the only one left of the siblings."

"But dad! You and mom didn't have an arranged marriage! You can't make me marry someone I can't stand! My enemy for the sake of it! You can't just-"

"You WILL marry Kyoya whether you like him or not! This conversation is over. Now, go get packed. I will have Margaret bring you your uniform. You will be staying with Takashi Morinozuka for the time being until I can settle this whole deal."

Takashi Morinozuka. Scarlet's other best friend. They have been friends since pre-school. She trained at his dojo when they were kids and she was still learning the mafia basics. "But dad!"

"GO!" Soryu yells at Scarlet. She stomps out of the room, cursing the mafia. "Don't curse the mafia! The mafia is you home!"

"Whatever! It's not like I chose the mafia life!" She yells.

(-)

About an hour later, Luka, her older brother, softly knocks on Scarlet's door.

"Scar? You in there?" He asks.

"Yeah, Luka. I am. Come on in." She says between sniffles. She had been crying.

The door opens with a soft click and Luka Oh, the future head of the Black Dragons walks in. "Have you been crying Scar?"

She couldn't say anything when she looked into his concerned eyes. All she was capable of was nodding her head yes and running into his arms. His hold was strong but gentle and he kept stroking her head like he used to do when they were kids and Scarlet would get teased for being the only girl on the soccer team.

"Hey, hey look at me." Luka says softly, gently holding Scarlet out to arms' length. "It will all be okay. I'm just a phone call away, okay? I love you Scar."

"I love you too Luka. I don't want to do this. I don't want to marry Kyoya. I want to marry…" She couldn't even finish her sentence before more tears were shed.

"Who, Scarlet? Who do you want to marry?"

"I…I want to marry Takashi!" She pushes away from Luka, anger overcoming her sadness. "And now that will never happen because of this stupid arranged marriage! Do you see this ring?" Scarlet holds up her right hand and sitting on her ring finger is a thin gold band with three emeralds, one large one in the center and two smaller ones on either side. Luka nods. "This is a promise ring from Takashi. He made me promise to wait until after I finish college to get married and have a life together with him. I love him! Not Kyoya!"

"Scar… I-I had no idea. I had no idea that you loved Takashi. I'm really sorry Scar. But this is the mafia. You have to do what you have to do and not get yourself killed. If I could change this agreement, believe me, I would. But I can't." Luka pulls his sister into another hug.

"What did you come here for?"

"I uh, I came here to tell you that dad wants you to be in the car at three. Um, I'm going to go wait for you outside in the car, okay? You uh, may want to fix your make up. Your mascara is running."

"Thanks Luka. Tell dad to give me ten minutes." Luka nods and turns away but is stopped by a set of small hands. "And Luka, take care of Axle for me okay?" Axle is Scarlet's very large Saint Bernard.

"No need for that." Luka smirks and Scarlet gives him a puzzling look. "The Morinozuka's are letting you take him with you."

She smiles and nods, turning to pack up a small suitcase of Axle's things, carefully placing his stuffed bunny on top along with rawhides, squeaky toys, and food and water dishes.

She just hopes that everything she does, makes her father proud. Scarlet is always trying to make her father proud and she does, but he doesn't show that he is proud of his one and only daughter. He doesn't want to make her weak and live only for attention.

(-)

2:58 p.m.

Scarlet arrives at the black bulletproof limousine with a butler following close behind with Axle in a bright lime green reflective collar and matching bullet print leash. As soon as the butler closes the door, the limo starts to move. The Morinozuka's live about an hour out of town on a huge 253 acreage with stables and a dojo. Scarlet's stallion, Aztec, and Luka's mare, Calypso are boarded there.

"Hi daddy." She says, hoping to sound as if nothing is wrong.

"Hello, Scarlet." Soryu gives his daughter a disappointing look. "I heard what you had said to Luka in your room. I hope you know that I would never allow you to marry Takashi no matter what. He is not worthy of you." Soryu says with a straight face and cool tone.

"You were eavesdropping!?" She shouts.

"Not so loud, Scarlet. And no, I wasn't exactly eavesdropping. I happened to be walking by when I heard you shouting. So, as any mafia king would do, I gathered intel on the event."

"I can't believe you dad! You weren't supposed to know that."

"I know, but I do know that you have lied to me about that damn ring. You said it was from Luka for you sixteenth birthday but I guess it wasn't." Scarlet's father grabs her hand and yanks the ring off her finger. "Now, I don't want any funny business while you are staying with the Morinozuka's. Since the plans have already been made, it is too late to change them." Soryu throws the ring out of the window.

"Father! Why did you do that!? I CAN NOT believe you!" Tears start to burn Scarlet's eyes and she buries her face into Luka's shoulder as he wraps a protective arm around her shoulders. Axle whimpers and tries to move from his seat but the leash attached to the car seat hook restrains him.

"I can and I have!" Soryu says, raising his voice. "Takashi Morinozuka is not worthy of you. His family may be wealthy, well educated, and run the most popular dojo known to Japan, but you cannot marry him. You can't even be his girlfriend. If any the Fire Dragons find out that you are seeing another man besides Kyoya, they will serve my head on a silver platter."

"Father, would you just stop already? Can't you see Scar feels bad about this? Her loving and caring father is sitting across from her, yelling at her for loving someone. She's been really shut off from the world since mom left and her talking about how she feels is a big accomplishment coming from her." Luka steps in for Scarlet's sake.

"You're right, son." Soryu admits. "Listen, honey. I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much you actually loved this boy and that you were actually telling me how you felt." He rests a hand gently on Scarlet's back and everybody, including Axle, stays silent for the remaining twenty minutes of the trip. The limo smoothly slides to a halt.

They have arrived at the Morinozuka's.


	2. Being Ignored (2)

**Chapter 2**

Breathing in the sweet scent of recently-bloomed cherry blossoms, Scarlet exits the limo with Axle trailing closely behind. Luka follows after them, and Soryu follows after him. Once they are all outside the limo and the butler places the luggage at Scarlet's feet, the limo drives around the corner to park and wait for the Oh's to get finished with their business.

As the Morinozuka's emerge from the doors of the dojo, Axle barks once and runs towards Lily, Takashi's little sister, and Macy, the Morinozuka's farm collie (and Axle's girlfriend). The three of them run around in the field, which brings a small smile to Scarlet's face and her eyes soften a bit.

Takashi walks through the doorway of the dojo, wiping sweat off of his head and Scarlet goes to move in for a hug but a strong hand grips her shoulder, preventing her from moving. She looks up at the source of the hand, Luka. He gives her a stern, expressionless shake of the head and she understands. She realizes that it probably wouldn't be the best idea to give Takashi a hug… Not after what happened between her and her father in the car.

"Mister Morinozuka. I trust that Scarlet's needs will be well attended to. Should you need anything, please, feel free to call me or my son." Soryu says to Takashi's father, shaking his hand.

"Of course Mister Oh. Scarlet will be treated as family, not as a guest. She will have full access to the barn, trails, and the dojo twenty-four-seven." Takashi's father, Akira, replied happily.

"Great. I shall leave her in your care. Luka, let's go."

"Yes, father." Luka replies, turning to his little sister. "I love you Scar. If you need anything, call me okay? I will be by at least every other day to check on Calypso so I will check up on you too okay?" He lifts up a hand off of her upper arm and wipes away a rebellious tear from Scarlet's cheek. "Why is my little sister crying? She never cries."

"Luka… I, I can't do this. I don't want to do this. I want to stay home, with you and Jonah and our big backyard and my treehouse and my tunnels and hiding spots… I don't want to stay here." Luka pulls his sister into a big bear hug, wondering why his father is just standing there, emotionless, watching his prized award-winning, sniper, daughter break down. He should be the one comforting her, not him.

"Listen, Scar." He says, pushing her to arm's length and looking straight into her beautiful violet orbs. "You are stronger than anyone I know. You will get through this, I promise. Now get on in there and show 'em what ya got okay?" He smiles at Scarlet and kisses her forehead. All she can manage is a weak smile and a nod.

[-]

"Scar-chan!" Mitskuni Haninozuka, or Honey as everyone calls him, exclaims when Scarlet walks through the doors of the dojo after unpacking he stuff in her room.

"Hehe hello Honey senpai! How are you today?" She laughs. Her mood has changed drastically since her arrival. Once she had time alone, she was able to clear her mind easier.

"Well, I'm great Scarlet! How are you today?!" Honey says cheerfully.

"I'm doing okay, thank you for asking." She smiles and sets down her blood red towel and water bottle with a gold-eyed black dragon, the symbol for the Black Dragons, lacing around the bottle.

"Hehe no problem Scar-chan! Hey! Takashi's over there cutting wood! Would you like to go talk to him?" He asks cheerfully, not having the slightest idea what went on between her and her father.

"No thanks, Honey-senpai… I think I'll pass." She gives a sad glance towards Takashi and his bare chest, abs, and strong upper arms swinging an at least 15 pound axe, splitting the logs in two. Their eyes meet for a brief second and Takashi gives Scarlet a half-smile and a wave but she just looks away.

"Oh what's wrong Scar-chan?"

"You wouldn't understand, Honey-senpai. Being around the one you love and the one who loves you but never being able to be with them hurts… I just don't want any more tears today." She replies sadly. "Huh!?" she exclaims.

"I don't want you to cry Scar-chan! I'm sorry! I-I didn't know! Please don't hate me!" Mitsukuni starts to cry and ramble on apologies that aren't necessary all while gripping onto Scarlet's waist.

"Mitsukuni." A deep, stoic voice says and Honey stops crying immediately. Like a faucet has been turned from the on to the off position. Takashi is standing a few inches too close to Scarlet's back to be comfortable for her. She flinches a bit and moves a few steps forwards. "Leave Scarlet be. She probably came into the training area to practice. Why don't you let her practice?"

"You're right Takashi. Scar-chan! Do you wanna spar with me? I'll go easy on you for some cake!"

"Ha-ha thanks Honey-senpai…." Just as Mitsukuni starts to look sad, Scarlet speaks again in a bright tone. "But I don't want you to go easy on me! Ha ha!" She runs to the sparring mat and gets into position.

[-]

"GOTCHA!" Scarlet says triumphantly after defeating Mitsukuni for the first time in a while. Slow clapping comes from the corner of the room. Looking up, Scarlet sees that it's Satoshi Morinozuka, Takashi's younger brother. He's in year two, same as Scarlet, but he is exactly 4 months and 3 days older than Scarlet. "What do you want, Sato?" She asks, rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing….I just came by to make sure you settled in easily and stuff…" He says nonchalantly, all while drifting over to Scarlet and Mitsukuni.

"Ha-ha very funny, Sato. Why did you _really_ come here?" She asks, while helping Mitsukuni to his feet.

"Oh, you know why I'm here, Scarlet… I'm here for you." He says this with a devilish grin.

"Oh shut up you flirt! For the last time, I told you no!"

"But Scarlet, my princess, my sun, my moon, and my sky… We belong together." He lightly grabs one of Scarlets' hands, but misses and grabs her mid-forearm.

Scarlet takes this as a chance and she grabs his forearm too, making his eyes light up. "Well… In that case," she says, slightly seductively. "In that case… NO!" She then flips him over, him landing on his back all while she brushes her hands together and walks over to her water bottle.

"OW! That hurt!"

"Well, if it hurt, don't do it."

"But I didn't do it! You did!"

"But you were the cause of it. So, I suggest you not do it again. Next time, I will be over here and you will be over there." She points towards the other side of the room with her water bottle still in hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go…freshen up…See ya!" And with that, she is out the door, leaving poor Satoshi dumbfounded.

[-]

"I'm sorry miss! But you have to put this on to attend school! It is a requirement!" One of the maids, Lucy, said to Scarlet the next morning.

"No! I am not wearing that…that dress… I refuse to wear something so plain, and so… GIRLY! It's just not me!" She exclaims defiantly, arms crossed.

"I'm sorry miss but please just wear it! The Morinozuka's are counting on me to get you to do this. All the other female maids refuse to work with you because of this exact reason! Now just put on the dress, please, I'm begging you! Just put it on! It's only for eight hours."

"Ugh. Fine! But I am not happy about it!" She gives in.

"Thank you miss!"

After she puts on the dress, the socks, shoes, and Maid Lucy puts her hair up, she grabs a blueberry muffin and heads out the door. She doesn't want to go to Ouran but there is no other choice for her. She can't go back to being Queen Bee at Tekka Heights. She has to gain her title once more which will be harder to do in a stupid dress. And a stupid place where everyone is afraid of breaking their nails and if someone is going out with somebody or something happens to a student, it spreads like wildfire.

"Scarlet… I never took you as a yellow poufy dress kind of lady…" Takashi states in the limo on the way to Ouran. She just gives him a quick glance and looks away, out the window. On the way, both Satoshi and Takashi try to make small talk with Scarlet and give her the run-down of everything at Ouran but she doesn't respond. She listens, but doesn't respond.

[-]

"Scarlet! Scarlet listen to me!" The limo stopped in front of the registration building to drop them off and Takashi's voice can be heard throughout the courtyard. Students stop what they are doing to stare at the two. "Scarlet!" He grabs her wrist and forces her to look at him.

"What!?" She bites back, just then realizing all the curious eyes attached to her and Takashi.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean what is wrong with me?"

"You didn't talk to me OR Satoshi the entire way here, you stared out the window the whole time, you won't even look at me when I try to talk to you, and you don't even smile or wave back when I wave to you when I'm working. What. Is. Wrong. With you?"

"It's nothing, okay?" She says a little quieter. "It's nothing. Now please, let me go talk to Mr. Suoh so I can get my schedule and stuff."

"No, Scarlet. It's not 'nothing'. I know you. And I know that it's not 'nothing' something is wrong and I will find out." He pulls her five-foot-nine inch body into his forcefully when she tries to leave. He then whispers, "I love you, Scarlet, remember?"

"That's the problem Tamaki!" She snaps.

"What the hell do you mean? You can't hide anything from me for very long." He then leans down and kisses her eagerly and passionately. "You have NO idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

Shrieks and cries are heard from all around the yard. Variations of "No way! He has a girlfriend? Why didn't he tell anybody!?" and "I cannot believe this! Takashi is mine not hers!" Scarlet rolls her eyes at the comments and focusses back on Takashi. That sudden kiss makes everything harder for her but it cleared up her mind a bit.

" _Takashi really does love me. I don't know why I've been avoiding him lately. I love him too. And it's not like anything between me and Kyoya are going to happen anytime soon. I mean, I can't even stand the guy. He's my enemy for goodness sake!"_ She thinks to herself.

"Come on. People are starting to come closer to us. Let's get your schedule and things."


	3. Paparazzi (3)

**Chapter 3**

"Come on. People are starting to come closer to us. Let's get your schedule and things." Takashi says in a hushed voice and starts to lead Scarlet towards the registration building.

"O-okay…" She replies. She has no idea why the girls went crazy when Takashi kissed her. Did he not tell anyone about them being an item? Anyways, how could he waste a perfect first kiss like that just because she wouldn't shut up and listen to him? How could she be so stupid? How could HE be so stupid?

[-]

"Ah! Miss Oh. Please come in." Mr. Suoh says stoically as Scarlet enters the office. Takashi had to go to class but he said that someone was already chosen to show me around the school. "Here is your schedule, your locker number and combination is on there as well. Here are your school books and since you are a transfer student, this is your free Ouran Academy notebook."

Scarlet picks up the notebook and stares at it. "Is there something wrong, Miss Oh?" Mr. Suoh asks.

"It's… It's pink." She says.

"Yes. It is pink. Is there a problem with pink?"

"What? Oh, no. Pink is fine." She plasters on a fake smile.

"Okay well, anyways, I have arranged for my son, Tamaki-"

"Tamaki Suoh! At your service malady! It's a pleasure to meet you, princess!" The blonde boy says cheerfully, taking Scarlets' hand and kissing it. She jerks her hand away before his lips could meet her skin.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Scarlet says defensively.

"Why, greeting you, of course!"

"Well, next time, please, don't touch me."

"You'll have to excuse my son. He can take things a little too far sometimes, especially with new students." Mr. Suoh cuts in. "Tamaki, please, show our new second-year student, Scarlet Oh, around the school and make sure she knows where her classes and locker is. We do not tolerate tardies for lost classrooms, Miss Oh. Which, by your records, show that you are very familiar with a tardy pass."

"Sure thing father! Scarlet, please, come this way!" He leads her out the door and into the halls.

"Where are the restrooms, Tamaki?" She asks once they are out into the halls, passing by the small fountain in the courtyard.

"Down that hall, second door on the left. I shall wait for you here." He takes a seat at the fountain and Scarlet walks off quickly.

[-]

"I'm back." Scarlet states. Tamaki, of course, is still in the same spot as when she left five minutes ago; his back to hers.

"Ah there you are! I was starting to worry about you Scar-" Tamaki freezes. He takes in Scarlet's new apparel and doesn't know what to say.

She is in black ripped skinny jeans, black and white converses that rise up to her knee, a grey tight tank top covered by a black leather jacket, and a single fingerless leather glove on her right hand. Only her right hand is covered in a glove, and now that he thinks about it, only her right hand had an Ouran glove on it. Weird. She also has a lip piercing, a simple silver ring and her ears have gold bullet shaped earrings pierced into them with a thin gold chain going from the earring to her cartilage, ending in a little cuff that keeps the chain in place.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" She says in mock innocence and a smirk.

"N-no it's just that you… You changed out of your uniform into something completely unexpected."

"And your point is…? This is how I usually dress so get used to it. I am not wearing that stupid dress through year's two to four. Seriously. I would have to be drugged constantly to keep me from taking it off."

"O-okay! That's fine just please, unclench your fists. You are making a scene." Scarlet hadn't realized that the bell for passing period had rung and there are both girls and guys watching her.

Taking a deep breath, she unclenches her fists and Tamaki looks pleased.

Throughout their whole tour, Scarlet makes it a living hell for Tamaki.

[-]

"Ah! Kyoya!" Tamaki exclaims. "So glad I ran into you here!"

Kyoya stops in the idle of the hallway to talk to Tamaki. "What is it Tamaki?" He asks.

"Please! Please finish the tour of the school for me! She is making this a living hell! She keeps running off and she even changed out of her Ouran uniform! Ya gotta help me!" He begs. Scarlet is hiding behind Tamaki, out of Kyoya's sight.

Without even seeing her, Kyoya replies to Tamaki's frantic request. "Ah, so I see you have met Scarlet Oh." He chuckles slightly, pushing up his glasses. "Well, I won't argue that she can be a bit of a handful at times. Even I can't handle her most of the time."

"Wait. I never said her name and you can't even see her but you know who she is?" Tamaki questions.

"Yes, I do know Scarlet Oh. For starters, your description matched her perfectly and I already knew that she was coming to attend Ouran."

"But why is she here? She doesn't seem like she wants to be here. Almost like she was forced to attend Ouran."

"You see, she and I are-"

"Our families are business partners and Kyoya and I have to work on the next project together. So, my father wanted us to attend the same school so I wouldn't have to drive an hour and a half every day just to work on the project for three hours straight. Right? Kyoya?" She lies easily, after sneaking up behind the blond haired boy. As if it were her job practically.

"Ah, yeah. Right. Business partners. That's it. Partners." Slightly taken aback by her sudden lie, Kyoya fluently goes along with it, all while glaring at Scarlet. She glares back, causing her death stare to make Kyoya look away quickly.

"Well then. Since you two know each other already, I'm leaving her with you. You can take care of this beast." Tamaki storms off and Scarlet and Kyoya are left in the hallway, alone.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day that the great and powerful Miss Scarlet Oh was at an academy." Kyoya says. No matter what anyone says, Scarlet and Kyoya have somewhat of a friendship. They tease each other and are super competitive with one another but in the end, they'll always there for one another whether they like to admit it or not. In the mafia, you either make connections, or die without them.

"Neither did I. I hate it here. 'Sit like this. Don't do that. No, we don't allow knives or any sort of weaponry.' I mean, what kind of shit is that? Do they know who I am?"

"They don't know about the mafia and they don't need to know. And it's the kind you get at a fancy school. Now, do you have all of your classes figured out and you know where your locker is, right?" He asks.

"Yeah. We covered those first."

"Well, any place that hasn't been covered that you want to check out?"

"How big is your library?" She asks quietly.

"Bigger than yours, that's for sure. C'mon, I'll show you." He gently places his hand on her lower back, something only him and Takashi are allowed to do, and guides her towards the library.

"Oh, and Scarlet?" he says as they begin walking down the hall.

"Yes?" She replies.

"Kindly remove the knife from your backside."

"Dammit Kyoya." She says defeatedly, slightly lifting up the back of her shirt, careful not to show her tattoo and grabs the knife and sets it in Kyoya's open hand.

[-]

Two large wooden doors swing open with a small creak and reveals a library that is almost the same size as the one in Beast's castle in the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. Rows upon rows of books, old and new, line the walls. In the center is a circular desk with computers, drop-off slots, and various styles of book marks. Kyoya looks over at Scarlet to see her eyes filled with awe and a smile across her face- one of the few smiles he's actually seen on her.

"Look at all these books!" Scarlet exclaims. She starts running up and down the aisles and soon makes her way up to the second level "So many to choose from! Oh I haven't read this one yet! Or this one! Agh! This is so amazing! Thank you, Kyoya, for showing me the library!" She tackles Kyoya in a hug, making him fall over and her landing on top of him. They both freeze.

"…Uh, Scarlet?" Kyoya asks.

"Um sorry…" Scarlet says, gently slipping off of Kyoya. He stands up and holds out a hand to Scarlet and she accepts it, letting him pull her up off the floor.

"It's alright… I'm just going to get so much shit from the girls today. You owe me."

"What? How do I owe you?" She says defensively.

"You knocked me over and because of that little scene just now, I'm going to be bombarded with questions and jealous whining girls today. Therefore, you owe me."

"What do you mean jealous whining girls?"

"Well, you see, Tamaki and I run a Host Club along with Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, and Takashi Morinozuka. And I'm pretty sure you know Takashi, or Mori as we call him, VERY well."

"I see. So how do you know that I know Takashi?"

"Well, this is going around the whole school." He pulls out his phone and shows Scarlet a picture of her and Takashi kissing. "Mori never told us that he had a girlfriend… You better not let headquarters hear about this. Not mine, not yours, not anybody's."

"Those stupid girls. What are they now? Paparazzi?" Scarlet rolls her eyes. "Unbelievable!"

"Scarlet, can we talk outside for a minute?"

"Fine." Kyoya grabs Scarlet's arm and drags her out into the hall.

[-]

After school, Scarlet walks down the hallway, looking from her phone to the door numbers, and back to her phone.

"Found it. Music Room number three."


	4. Whispers (4)

A/N: This is the end of the updated chapters. I will be writing chapter 5 shortly as soon as I get some time which will be very soon (within the next day or two)

 **Chapter 4**

"Music room number three. Got it." Scarlet nudges open the door.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club!" Two red-headed boys say in sync. Twins. Must be Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Thanks. Where's Takashi? I have something to ask him." She says, disinterestedly.

"My, what a feisty one, Hikaru." Hikaru says.

"I agree Kaoru. Oh Takashi! Someone is here to see you!" Kaoru says, sounding a bit gay.

A light blush reaches Scarlet's cheeks when Takashi looks over towards her and smiles. A small smirk spreads on her face and lightly brushes her eyes before she notices the glaring girls and her smile fades into a glare towards the girls. Disgusted faces all around the room point towards Scarlet and Takashi stands up from his seat.

"Ugh! It's the girl who was kissing Mori today!" A brown-haired girl says.

"Mori don't go!" One girl whines.

"Yeah Mori! You should stay with us! Forget about her!" Another says.

Takashi gives Scarlet a sad look and sits back down in his seat.

 _Did he really just do that to me?_ She thinks to herself.

Tears sting her eyes. She drops her bag and runs out of the music room. Heartbroken.

"Scarlet wait!" She hears a voice but doesn't take time to figure out the source.

[-]

After running for a while, Scarlet finds the art room and sits in a corner, tears lightly falling down her cheeks and her mascara starting to run.

' _I can't believe he would do that… I thought he loved me enough to take a break from whiney girls to talk to me. I guess I was wrong.'_ She thinks to herself.

 _ **Ring Ring… Ring Ring…**_

"Hello?" Scarlet says, her voice cracking from tears.

"Hey, Scar… How are you doing?" A familiar voice says soothingly.

"Hey Kyle… I'm," she sniffs, "I'm fine."

"Okay, we both know that's a lie. Takashi called me and told me what happened. He wanted me to explain everything to you. He knew you wouldn't listen to him if he tried."

"You're right. It is a lie. Please, explain to me why Taka didn't come see me when he asked for me to come to the music room to see him."

"Scarlet… It's just because of the position he was in. He was off limits today but girls just kept coming up to him and Tamaki caved in and told Takashi that he had to do his job today. Whether you were coming or not."

"O-Oh… If that was all then I have some apologizing to do… I- I got to go. Thanks Kyle!"

"No problem…"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. See you tomorrow at the competition?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Haha okay. Go get 'em Peaches!" Peaches is Kyle's nick name for Scarlet.

"I'll try." She gives a small laugh and hangs up the phone.

[-]

"Where is Takashi?" Scarlet asks Kyoya after silently sneaking into the music room.

"He's in the corner over there." Kyoya points to a corner to the left of them.

Seven girls, Scarlet counts, are surrounding Takashi. They are all giggling and one glances over towards Scarlet and she goes to hide behind Kyoya but ends up tripping over God knows what, knocking over a vase, and falling off a small ledge, only about two feet high in the air.

 **CRASH!**

"Scarlet!" Kyoya yells, rushing to kneel down by Scarlet's side to make sure she is okay. "Are you okay?"

She tries sitting up, wincing at the pain. "Yeah. I'm fine." She says, but her facial expressions tell Kyoya otherwise.

By then, all the attention in the room is on her and Kyoya. The giggling stopped. The rude whispers have stopped. All eyes are on Scarlet and Kyoya.

"Scarlet, you aren't okay. Look, your arm is bleeding. Can you stand?"

"I think so." Kyoya extends a hand to Scarlet and she cries out in pain when she tries to stand.

"Scarlet! You can't stand up. Tamaki! Help me get her up and to the nurse. Gah your father is going to kill me, Scarlet! I promised him you wouldn't get injured on my watch." Kyoya orders.

"Right on it Kyoya!" Tamaki skips over and lifts one of Scarlet's arms over his shoulders.

"Watch it, buddy." Scarlet warns and Tamaki moves his hand a few inches north of the hemisphere.

"I got her." A stern monotone voice stops the two of them from proceeding further.

"You sure about that Mori?" Tamaki asks.

"Yes." He then scoops up Scarlet by the waist and the knees, supporting her shoulders as well.

"Ah!" Scarlet sucks in a sharp breath.

"What is it? Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's fine. It's just my shoulder"

"I hate to cut this meeting short but I'm taking Scarlet home to see our private nurse." Takashi announces and then proceeds to leave, ignoring the pleads of the numerous girls who flocked around the scene.

[-]

"There you go, Miss Scarlet. Your scrapes aren't that bad but I suggest changing the pads every morning to ensure nice healing. Take this medicine twice a day while the pain continues and stay off that ankle for two weeks."

"Two weeks!?" Scarlet yells. Axle lies his head on scarlet's knees to prevent her from standing up when she goes to move her legs, "My competition is in a week and a half!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Scarlet. You will just have to skip this one."

"I can't 'just skip this one', Mary. This is the biggest competition of the year. I can't just miss it. No way. Not happening."

"Miss Scarlet, please, calm down." She says softly, "We will check in on your ankle in a few days and see what we can do, okay?"

"Okay… I can't miss this one, Mary. I just can't. This is the last one my mother ever rode in, she didn't win this one because of a cheater named Marnie Chivalry. And now, I need to win this. For her."

"I will most definitely see what I can do, Miss Scarlet. I promise."

[-]

The next week and a half were awful, getting called names by all the girls who attended the Host Club, being late for every class because of the crutches, and not being able to ride Aztec to polish up their routine.

The day Mary had told her that her ankle was okay to walk on, they did an hour of strengthening for the next three days and then she was given the okay to ride. Takashi has never seen her so excited to go to the barn since her dad bought her Aztec. Six years ago.

She practically ran to the stables, even though Mary told her not to. Axle and Takashi were following close behind, Takashi yelling at her to stop running.

After getting Aztec groomed and tacked, Scarlet brings him out to the arena, does a few warm ups with him, and then gets in the saddle. She practices her routine over and over again, taking breaks of course, until the sun is underneath the horizon, leaving a warm golden glow in the sky. Leaving her confident in her routine, Scarlet puts Aztec back in his stall and heads back to her room to get a good night's sleep so she can be fully rested for tomorrow's show.

But not all will turn out how Scarlet expected.


	5. Guess who's back?

HEY-O! I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry for not being active. fI have just had so much going on I haven't been on my computer as much as I would for free time. It's always getting home, research/report/etc. Eat, work, then sleep. If any of you are still with me, please comment/leave a review to let me know I haven't lost you. I am sorry for everything you guys. I haven't been the best person ever. But I'd like to make it up to you.

I'm working on new chapters for my story and will be updating the story, Old Sparks, New Flames, as well. I am re-reading it and finding some typos and adding a detail or two so I hope you don't mind re-reading the new updates. I apologize once again for not being active on updating the story. Life got in the way but I now have it under control and shall be updating as much as I can!

I love you guys so much!

xoxo,

Ari


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